STARING AT THE SUN
by hhgbh
Summary: A story based on the Dragonball Super Z fanfiction series: When Chiara is captured by a mysterious group of soldiers, 17 and 18 must team up for the first time in years to get her back. If they can stop arguing for long enough, that is!
1.

Staring at the Sun

By Saiyanx

A fanfic based on the Dragonball Super Z series by Juuachigou and Mirai Bulma.

(A small note. In the series, 18 doesn't know 17's still alive, at least I don't think so, but in this story she does.)

(A second small note. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, read the series first. Do a google search.)

Chapter 1

_Maybe life is like a ride on a freeway_

_Dodging bullets while you're trying to find your way_

_Everyone's around but no one does a damn thing_

_It brings me down, but I won't let them_

17 was seriously beginning to doubt that he'd survived Vegeta's final flash. The more days that went by, the more likely it seemed that he really had died and was now serving time in Hell.

Chiara had hold of his arm and was half leading, half dragging him through New Hope City. While pretending to listen to her aggressively cheerful chatter, he'd spotted a newly finished building that towered above the city, a park full of young couples indulging in nauseating displays of public affection and a bus full of, can you believe it, nuns! All of this made him long for the days when he could just point a finger and reduce everything before him to rubble. If there was a god, he must be splitting his sides with laughter, waving these wonderfully tempting targets in front of 17 and knowing full well he couldn't do a thing about it.

"Oh, 17! Look!" Chiara pointed ahead of them. There stood a newly opened pet store. The number of homeless animals left by 17's and 18' destruction was just as vast as the number of people. Thanks to generous donations and help from Capsule Corp, these animals were finally getting loving owners, as could be seen by the small children walking out with puppies and kittens in their arms. As Chiara watched the scene with shining eyes, 17 turned his skyward.

"You're loving this, aren't you?!" He muttered under his breath.

From the rooftop of an apartment building, hazel brown eyes watched the pair through a set of specially made binoculars. Commander Simmons turned on his walkie-talkie and spoke into it.

"This is Simmons. I've found them."

There was some static and then a much more elderly voice replied,

"Are you positive?"

"Yes sir. There's a male and a female, and neither of them is giving off any excess body heat." He looked down at the scanner his binoculars were hooked up to. It showed an infra-red image of everything that he saw through the binoculars. Right now, it was showing the outlines of the two androids and the people around them. Every person had red light radiating off them, indicating the energy given off by their movements. Even the small dog, the female was patting, was giving off this energy, but she and her male companion were not.

"Excellent!" Simmons' superior couldn't keep the excitement out of his voice. "Don't lose them. Keep us informed of their position and we'll wait for the right moment. We don't want to risk any civilians getting in the way."

"Yes sir… But sir, there's something strange here." Simmons took another look through the binoculars. "Eye-witnesses always described the female as blonde, and resembling the male in appearance. But she's got red hair and, from what I can see of her face, it has a more roundish shape than the males'."

"Need I remind you Simmons," The elderly voice interrupted his thoughts. "That many of those eye-witnesses only saw the pair at a distance and, if they can dress and talk like humans, I see no reason why they can't do something as simple as dye their hair! Now stop wasting time with pointless details and keep them in your sights!"

"Yes sir!" Simmons turned off the walkie-talkie and resumed watching his two targets.

17 just stared out the jeep window while Chiara continued her verbal torture. They were speeding along, just above the ground, through the woods back towards the lab. A sparkling blue river flowed beside them. It was the perfect scene of tranquil, quiet nature. Well okay, scratch the quiet part.

"Weren't those animals just the cutest 17?" Chiara said while guiding their vehicle over the woodland brush. "And the way that puppy licked my face, awww."

'She wouldn't be so happy if she'd seen what it'd been licking ten seconds earlier.' 17 thought to himself.

Chiara gave 17 a sideways look, trying to spot some kind of expression on his face.

"Come on 17, say something. You've hardly spoken a word all day. You can't just sit around and brood for the rest of your life. You should take this opportunity to get out, see the world." Her face suddenly lit up. "And I know the perfect way to do it."

Keeping one of her hands on the steering wheel, she used the other to open the glove compartment and reach inside.

"Look what I found yesterday when I was going for a walk." She took her hand back out of the compartment and in it was clutched an orange sphere with two red stars shining within it. It was a dragon ball.

Chiara smiled broadly.

"So what do you say?" she asked. "Want to go on a dragon ball hunt? I hear they're really fun!" She turned her eyes back to the woods ahead and a pink tinge came to her cheeks. "I could even go with you if you want."

Chiara never got to hear 17's response to that because at that moment, the jeep was knocked sideways by an unknown force and landed in the river! Shoving open the door and jumping out onto the bank, 17 scanned the surrounding woodland for any sign of their attacker. The damn collar around his neck may have been suppressing his ki, but his senses were as fine tuned as ever.

He jumped to the side just in time to avoid the blast as it came from the cover of a bush. Except it wasn't a blast. It was some sort of strange glowing line that that came out of the bush like a snake. It was quickly pulled back and a man dressed in a military style uniform stood up with his arm pointed towards 17. On his fist was a strange looking device which 17 guessed must be the launcher for that odd weapon. Already knowing what the fool was going to do, 17 dived forward to avoid the line that came shooting out, crouched briefly on the ground and used his hands to thrust himself at the assailant. His physical strength may not have been enough to kill a man with one blow anymore, but he still possessed his knowledge of martial arts and of the weak points of the human anatomy. The soldier let out a slightly high pitched cry as 17's boot slammed sharply into his groin. He bent forward, just to get a palm to the chin. He fell backward, stunned and 17 stood over him.

Reaching down, 17 removed the launcher from the fallen man's arm. He looked it over in his hands for a few seconds, then turned and threw it at the second man who'd been trying to sneak up behind him. It hit the soldier square on the nose, causing it to bleed. This distracted him just long enough for 17 to run forward and drive his knee into his enemy's gut. Then, clasping both his hands together, he hammered the guy in the back of the head, laying him out on the ground.

Looking at his two fallen opponents, 17 could feel the familiar smirk on his face. Even unarmed and outnumbered, he could still inflict pain on humans if he wished.

Truthfully, Simmons felt bad about using Benjamin and Walker as decoys. But he knew there was no way these androids would be taken, using a direct attack. From his hiding place, in the thick branches of a tree, he aimed his binder and pulled the trigger.

As 17 headed towards the, half submerged, jeep to see if Chiara was alright, Simmons line hit him from behind and instantly coiled round his arms, pinning them to his sides. He was instantly struck by mind-numbing pain! It felt like his whole body was on fire! He jerked involuntarily and landed on his knees. His teeth had been clenched up to this point but, as the pangs intensified, he couldn't hold his screams of agony in anymore.

Chiara swept her soaking hair out of her eyes as she clambered from the water. The first thing she saw was 17, on his knees, crying out in pain with some sort of glowing rope wrapped around him. Her eyes followed the rope up to the top of a nearby tree, where a man sat with some sort of device on his arm.

Running towards the tree she cried out,

"Stop that!" and kicked the tree trunk with all her strength.

On realizing that the tree he was in was toppling over, Simmons leapt from the branches, and landed on the ground with a roll. This caused him to release his grip on the binder's trigger, and the line automatically returned to his arm launcher. The tree landed in the river and was swept away.

17 landed, face down, on the ground and Chiara ran over to him. She turned him over to see if he was injured. There didn't seem to be any damage, but his eyes were closed and he still looked like he was in pain. She hoisted one of his arms over her shoulders and took off into the air.

On the ground, Simmons quickly grabbed his walkie-talkie and shouted into it,

"Backup, move in!"

Suddenly, from straight above Chiara, there appeared literally out of nowhere, a sleek black helicopter. Three men leaned out of its' open side and each of them had a binder on their arm. Chiara knew, even before they fired, that they'd got her. But she wasn't going to let them get 17 as well. She threw his unconscious body down to the river and saw him disappear beneath the water's surface, just before her whole world was overtaken by pain.

Simmons watched the female android fall out of the air, only to be stopped by the binders still around her body. The helicopter landed and the android was laid on the ground. Simmons bent down beside her. She'd passed out, or shut down, or whatever it was these things did.

"Good job men. We got one." He said.

Two soldiers carried Chiara onto the helicopter, while two more went to help Benjamin and Walker. Simmons walked over to the river's edge and peered into the water. As he'd expected, there was no sign of the male. The current was fast moving and he could've swum a mile downstream by now. No matter. Coronal Jesper had said that they only needed one of them.

Simmons turned to rejoin his men, when something caught his eye. The jeep the androids had been riding in. There was something shining in the passenger seat. Wading in, Simmons peered through the open passenger door and picked up the shining object. It was a small, orange orb with two stars within it. Simmons had no idea what it was or what the androids had been doing with it, but something told him to keep hold of it. Something he might have heard a long time ago, but couldn't remember at the moment.

17 hadn't been completely unconscious, as Chiara had thought. He now lay in the branches of the tree that she had sent crashing into the river. It had gotten pinned between two large rocks and 17 had just managed to grab hold of it as the river carried him under. His body was still aching all over though, and he could barely lift his head to watch the helicopter taking off into the air. Despite the distance between them, 17 could see Chiara through the open side doors. He could also see the dragon ball clutched in their leader's hand. But suddenly that, as well as the whole helicopter, simply vanished into thin air.

And he was alone. The quiet surrounding him seemed to negate all that had happened in the last few minutes.

What the hell _had_ just happened anyway?!


	2. 2

Chapter 2 

_If I seem bleak_

_Well you'd be correct_

_And if I don't speak_

_It's cause I can't disconnect_

_But I won't be burned by the reflection_

_Of the fire in your eyes_

_As you're staring at the sun_

In all her time spent, living at Capsule Corp, 18 had never seen it so empty. True, the business compartments were still as bustling as ever, but the living quarters were unoccupied save for herself and 16. She wasn't complaining. It was nice to have some time to herself. And anyway, she'd had two offers to leave the building with the others.

The first had been from Trunks, who had invited her to come train in the wilderness with him and Vegeta. But 18 had known what that would've eventually led to. A sparring match between her and Vegeta, one 'accidentally' misplaced energy wave and about three months of regeneration for her. So, no thankyou!

The second invite had been from Bulma and Bra. They'd been heading out into town to do some shopping, and had asked 18 to come along. 18 had declined, saying she was in the mood for relaxing and reading something. But if she were to be completely honest, she'd have said that watching Bulma and her daughter together would only remind her of how much she missed Marron.

It'd been about a month since she'd set off to 'find herself', and 18 thought more and more every day about where she was and how she was doing. It was stupid really, if she thought about it logically. She'd only really known Marron for a year. Okay, she'd seen her as a little girl during their brief visit to the other timeline, but she'd never seen her grow up. She'd never really had a hand in raising her.

Come to think of it, the same went for Goku and Vegeta, and their offspring. But they were making up for it. Training their kids, passing on their teachings. 18 sighed; she didn't have any teachings to pass on to Marron, except perhaps how to level an entire city with a few well aimed blasts!

A knock at the door interrupted her thoughts and she got up to answer it. What she saw upon opening it did little to raise her spirits.

"Hi sis. Long time no – Hey!"

17 found himself slammed; face first, into the door with his arm twisted up behind his back.

"What the hell are you doing?!" He managed to say with half his face pressed up against the hard surface. 18 was using one arm to hold him there, and the other to root around in his pockets.

"I'm making sure you don't have any remote-shaped device on your person. I haven't forgotten what happened last time you were here!"

"Come on! That was two years ago! Don't tell me you're still mad!"

They were, of course, talking about 17 using a remote, very similar to the one Gero had owned, to immobilize 18. He had planned on taking her back to Gero's lab and reactivating her original programming, turning her back into the soulless killing machine she'd been before. But, thanks to a timely intervention by Goku, Gohan and Vegeta, that hadn't come to pass and he'd wound up inside an oversized test tube with a collar round his neck that kept him from firing energy waves or even flying.

"Now, would you let go of me! You're breaking my arm!"

18 released him, but still barred his way into the building.

"What are you doing here?" She demanded.

"Take it easy. I'm not here to cause trouble. In fact, I came to ask for help."

18's response caught 17 by surprise. She started laughing.

"Help!? You expect, after everything you've done, for me to help you!? Oh that limiter must be on too tight. It's cutting off air to your brain!" She pushed him out the door. "Now 17, would you be so kind as to get lost!? Though I have to say, thanks. I needed a good laugh!"

"Chiara's been kidnapped!" 17 said, just before the door slammed shut. There was a moment of silence, and then the door opened again.

"What?" said 18.

"Today. We were attacked by these soldiers; at least I think they were soldiers. They used this strange weapon that completely overloaded my circuits. It felt like I was on fire! Anyway, they took Chiara away in this helicopter that just vanished."

"Vanished? What do you mean vanished?"

"I mean it turned into a flock of orange hummingbirds! What do you think I mean!?"

"Okay, okay!" 18 stepped out of the doorway. "I think you'd better come in."

Simmons looked at the android lying on the table in front of him. Her eyes were still closed and she was bound to the table with the same kind of cable that they used in their binders. He had to admit he was impressed with the technology that finally allowed them to fight back against those artificial monsters. The binders worked in a similar way to an EMP. Except while EMPs permanently shut down any electronic component in their radius, these binders only affected anything electronic that they were in contact with. That made them much safer to use on this fortress. Simmons shuddered to think what would happen if the generators, that kept it afloat in the air, were to be shut down.

Still, what he couldn't understand was why the coronal insisted on keeping it alive. Now they had the ability to shut these machines off, they should destroy them before they decided to go on another rampage and kill hundreds more people. Simmons himself had lost family to the androids and didn't want to risk it happening again. But Coronal Jesper hadn't failed them so far. He'd gathered the small remnants of Earth's armies and given them a new feeling of hope. That and the means to actually render the androids helpless. But before they'd gotten a chance to use it, reports had come in that the androids had been destroyed.

Now that they were back, the army had been reformed and Coronal Jesper's plans had been put back in action. Although, what those plans were, Simmons still wasn't aware of. But he had faith in the coronal. After all, just look at what the man had done. Here they were, hovering above East Satan City and, thanks to the cloaking device the coronal had invented, nobody had spotted them for ten years!

Simmons turned at the sound of the coronal's voice behind him.

"Excellent job, Commander! Well done!"

Simmons quickly stood to attention and saluted. The coronal's hover chair was silent, just like the generators, so he hadn't known he was there until he spoke. Coronal Jesper was an old man. What little remained of his hair was deathly white and his skin tone wasn't far off being the same colour. Being well into his nineties, he could only get around through the use of a hover chair. He now used this to sidle up close to the table and get a good look at Chiara. He stared at her for a few long moments and then turned his head back to Simmons.

"Start the scanning right away. I want to know what every bit of this android is made of."

"We're obviously dealing with some kind of supernatural beings!" 17 said as he paced back and forth in front of 18. "Creatures with the ability to render their opponents helpless and to disappear without a trace. Maybe they can teleport?"

"Or _maybe_ their helicopter was equipped with some kind of cloaking technology." 18 replied dryly. "And from what you've told me, it sounds like their weapons are some kind of electronic disruptors."

"Yeah … that makes sense." 17 sat down with a slightly disappointed look on his face.

"So," he looked at his sister. "How're we going to get her back?"

"Excuse me? 'We'?"

"Yeah. You and me." He stood up again.

"Come on! I can't rescue her by myself. Not like this!" He pointed to the limiter round his neck. "I can't involve Gajetto. He's no fighter! And I'd rather wish Gero back to life and ask him for help than those Z-friends of yours! So you're all I've got."

"Wow, I'm touched." 18 said sarcastically. She stood up and crossed her arms. "Alright, I'll help. But only because I like Chiara."

"Great! Let's go!" 17 started towards the door.

"Hold it." 18 reached out and grabbed the back of his shirt. "You always did jump in without thinking. First we need to find out where they took her. And lucky for you, I know how we can."

She walked over to the stairway that led down to Bulma's lab.

"Hey 16!" She called. "Is Bulma's dragon radar down there?"

"16?" said 17 in bewilderment.

There came the sound of heavy footsteps on the stairs and then 16 appeared. He had the radar in his hand and Bra's cat Raion on his shoulder. He held out the radar to 18, who accepted it gratefully while 17 just stared at the towering android.

"I take it you are leaving?" He asked in his deep gravelly voice.

"Yeah, I might be gone for a while. Something's come up." 18 put the radar in her pocket and headed towards the door.

"Do you… wish for me to go with you?" 18 noticed 16 looking at 17 as he said this. Clearly Bulma had let him know all about 17 and the history he had with the z-fighters.

"Thanks, but I can handle it. You watch over the place while I'm gone. Okay, big guy?" She turned to 17 who was still staring, open-mouthed, at 16. "What're you doing, trying to catch flies? Let's go."

The two of them stepped outside and 18 turned on the radar. Four yellow dots instantly appeared on the screen. She figured the one nearest to them would be the one Chiara had found. She looked up as 17 tapped her on the shoulder.

"Just who the hell was that?!" He pointed back to the building.

"Hmm? Oh, that was 16. He was the android Gero made before us." 18 answered simply. She then turned her attention back to the radar. 17 clearly wasn't satisfied with that answer.

"Well!? Where did he come from?!"

18 sighed.

"He was created by Gero to destroy Goku but, for some reason, was never activated. Last year, at the tournament, he tried to kill Goku but Bulma was able to shut him down and reprogram him. Now he lives at Capsule Corp with us and keeps it safe from any _intruders_." 17 could tell, from the look 18 was giving him, what she was referring to, so he decided to drop the subject.

"Now come on. Hopefully, we can use the radar to find the dragon ball those soldiers took. And, with any luck, wherever we find the dragon ball, we'll also find Chiara."

Coronal Jesper sat at his desk, looking over the results of the android's scans. Ingenious. The android had a silicon base and an entirely metal skeleton. But the rest of her, organs, muscles, skin, was entirely synthetic. Which meant it functioned the same way as the real thing, but didn't suffer any of the drawbacks. Drawbacks such as aging, fatigue or hunger.

Jesper picked up the phone on his desk. Walker's voice immediately came to his ears,

"Yes, Sir?

"Alright Walker, everything's prepared. Move the android down to the lab."

18 flew over East Satan City following the blip on the dragon radar's screen. 17 was holding on to her shoulders. Taking her eyes away from the radar, she began scanning the city below. _Literally_ scanning. Androids may not have a ki signature, but their electronic components did give off a signal that others of their 'kind' could pick up, if they tried. 18 wasn't picking up any electronic signals, other than those you'd expect to find over a city. She looked again at the radar and hovered in mid-air.

"This is strange. 17, look at this."

"I can't look at anything except your hair! Why'd you let it grow so long?!" 17 said as he spat some blonde strands from his mouth.

18 ignored that comment and pressed the button on top of the radar twice.

"According to this," she said. "We're in the right place. But the dragon ball is somewhere above-" The two androids looked at each other and simultaneously looked up at the sky.

Their vision took on a red haze as the enhancements in their eyes altered their perception. A sweeping line, like on a sonar, passed over their vision. Each time it swept past, a little more of the hidden construct above them came into focus. It wasn't long before the entire floating fortress was revealed to them.

"18, you can put that radar away now." Said 17. "I think it's safe to say we've found Chiara.


	3. 3

Chapter 3

_When I ran I didn't feel like a runaway_

_When I escaped it didn't feel like I'd got away_

_There's more to living than only surviving_

_Maybe I'm not there but I'm still trying _

Simmons held the dragon ball in one hand and an ancient book in the other. He kept looking at the orange sphere and then at the faded text. It described the exact same legend his great grandfather had told him 30 years ago. At first, Simmons hadn't believed the ball was genuine. It may have been some kind of trinket like those fortune dolls you saw in gift shops. To test it, he'd held it above his head and let it drop to the hard metal floor. Instead of shattering into pieces, as he'd expected it to, it had just landed with a small 'dink'. The legend had indeed said that these balls were unbreakable. And if the rest of the legend was true, there was no telling the possibilities…

He stood up and headed out the door of his quarters. Walking at a fast pace, he soon came to Coronal Jesper's office. He knocked smartly and waited. There was no answer. He tried knocking again, but still nothing. He opened the door a crack and peered inside. The office was empty.

He closed the door, a look of puzzlement on his face. The coronal rarely left his office and, even when he did, he always let Simmons know where he was in case of emergencies. Where could he be?

Down in the lower floors of the fortress, 17 and 18 climbed out of the small hole 18 had made in the floor and took a look at their surroundings.

"A place this big has got to have some kind of mainframe running it." Said 18. "If we can just gain access to it, we can find out where they've got Chiara." She looked at 17. "What are you grinning about?"

"This." Replied 17. "Kinda exciting isn't it? Reminds me of the old days."

18 rolled her eyes.

"Yeah. Your girlfriend should get kidnapped more often." She muttered sarcastically and started off down the hallway. 17 followed quickly after.

"She's _not_ my-!"

The sudden sound of footsteps caused them to stop in their tracks. 18 motioned for them to duck inside a door to their right. It turned out to be a broom closet. Two soldiers, with guns slung over their shoulders, walked past, talking about some baseball game they'd seen in the barracks. 18 indicated with her hand for 17 to stay put. She waited until the sound of the soldiers' voices had gone further down the hall then opened the door. Once she was sure they were gone, she turned back to 17.

"Coast is clear. Let's go."

The two of them started off down the hallway again.

"Why are we sneaking around?" 17 suddenly asked. "Why didn't you just snap those guys' necks?"

"Because they're not the bad guys here." 18 replied, giving him a frosty stare.

"What are you talking about?! They attacked Chiara and me for no reason!"

"People have developed a strong dislike for androids." 18 turned to face ahead again. "And I, for one, don't blame them."

"Oh, don't start the guilt trip again!" 17 exclaimed. "You live with humans for a few months, and I find you've turned into one of them! All whining and crying over something that happened years ago!"

"We wiped out half the Earth's population!" 18 tried to keep her voice low, but her temper was flaring.

"Only half? I was sure we did better than that!" 17 said with a smirk on his face. "And come on, even you can't deny you miss the thrill."

"Thrill!?" 18 was now in 17's face. "That is it! I take back all the things I said about you when I still thought you were dead! I told Marron that you weren't an evil person, that you were just a victim of circumstance! But you honestly enjoy hurting people don't you?! And if it weren't for that collar of yours, you'd be out there doing it right now! You're really nothing but a-"

"Bad guy." Said 17.

"More like homicidal psychopath!"

"No, I mean coming this way!" 17 pointed over her shoulder. There was indeed the sound of footsteps and a shadow peering round the corner ahead of them. 18 quickly looked around for a hiding place.

"Come on!" She grabbed 17's shirt just as the guard stepped into the hallway.

Simmons looked around. He could've sworn he heard voices coming from this way. But the hall was completely empty. Maybe it had been some of the troops having one of their sporting debates instead of patrolling.

The technician double checked the schematics on the screen. He was pleased with what he saw. The samples taken from the android had been integrated into the existing prototype and everything was running smoothly. He wondered what the coronal would have them do with the android now. Would he want it destroyed? Or did he wish to perform future experiments? Personally, he'd feel a lot safer if they just scrapped the thing now. But that wasn't his decision to make. Anyway, he had to go tell the coronal the good news.

He turned off the computer screen and left his office, making sure to lock the door behind him. Up in a corner off the office, a grating was pushed away from the wall and 18 swung her legs out.

"A computer. Finally, we're getting somewhere." She jumped nimbly to the floor and headed over to the technician's desk. Behind her, the top half of 17's body appeared from the wall.

"An air vent? That was your brilliant plan?!"

"What? It worked, didn't it?" 18 turned on the computer screen.

"Well yeah, but jeez, talk about cliché!" 17 slid out of the duct, landed with his hands on the floor and flipped himself onto his feet. He then joined 18 at the computer screen, peering over her shoulder. "You sure you know what you're doing?"

"17, if you can plan and construct a hundred replicas of yourself, all fully functioning and independently programmed, I think I can bring up the blueprints of this place on a computer!"

"Okay, touchy!" 17 crossed his arms and waited.

"Here we are." The plans for the floating fortress appeared on the screen. All of the rooms and compartments were marked clearly. The androids' eyes immediately went to the area marked 'laboratory'.

"I'll bet you anything, that's where they've got her." Said 17.

"Let's make sure." Said 18. She tapped some keys and another screen popped up. This one showed a camera's eye view of the interior of the lab. Sure enough, there was Chiara, tied down to a table in the centre of the room. There were men in white lab coats gathered around her. 18 could see that several of them were holding tools of some kind.

"There she is! Let's go!" 17 turned away from the computer.

"Hang on!" said 18. "They're not going to leave her unguarded. How do you intend to get in there?"

17 turned around to face her. There was a slight grin on his face.

"Your way."

Coronal Jesper sat in his hover chair, overlooking the final procedure on the android. He was in a viewing room on a floor above the lab, watching the scientists at work through a glass window. A soldier was standing beside him. The sound of the door sliding open came from behind him.

Simmons walked into the room, stopped and saluted, even though the coronal had his back to him.

"Coronal Jesper, sir!" He said. "I've recently discovered something that could be of great interest to you."

"Whatever it is, it will have to wait, Simmons." The coronal still didn't turn to face the man. "The final stage of our plan is about to commence."

Simmons looked at the dragon ball in his hand for a while and then pocketed it. He turned to leave the room, but then turned back and spoke again,

"Sir, permission to speak freely?"

Jesper remained silent for a moment, as if contemplating Simmons' request, but then nodded his head.

"Go ahead."

"Ever since you reunited the army, we've been working, non-stop, on a way to defeat these androids. Well sir, now we have a way. But instead of destroying them, you seem more interested in using them in this plan of yours. In all the years I've worked with you, you've never even told me this plan." Simmons voice took on a more authoritive tone. "I think I deserve to know."

Jesper sat in silence for a moment, and then his chair rotated so that he was facing Simmons.

"You're right." He said. "You do."

Jesper leaned forward in his chair. His hands crossed in front of him.

"Simons, do you know how long ago Gero invented the technology used to create these androids?" The look on Simmons' face implied a negative response so the coronal continued. "I've been doing some studying on the man, and it seems that he first produced this amazing technology some thirty years ago. However, due to the relative newness of this technology, and possibly the fact that he never told anyone about it, it took him a few more years before he was able to successfully complete his androids, and even then he was only able to build two of them." The coronal's eyes had a shine to them as he continued. "But, thirty years is a long time. Technology has advanced. I built this place to give us a sanctuary where we could develop our technology, safe from the androids' onslaught."

"Yes, and it paid off." Interrupted Simmons. "We now have the tools we need to defeat these androids!"

Jesper shook his head sadly.

"You don't yet understand, do you Simmons? Yes, we could destroy the androids, but it wouldn't stop there. You're still relatively young so you probably don't remember the saiyan attack."

"Saiyan?!" Simmons' eyes widened at this surprising bit of news.

"Yes. It was nearly six years before the android's arrived. Two aliens came from outer space. Saiyans. It only took one of them to completely wipe out the military unit sent to intercept them. The truth is that the whole Earth would've been wiped out, if not for a small band of warriors. Using powers, I didn't think could possibly exist, they defeated these aliens. I was so shocked by the emergence of these fighters and their incredible abilities that I did a little research into them. It turned out that one of those fighters was the same boy who had destroyed the Red Ribbon Army forty years ago. Three years later, he defeated King Piccolo, and then, three years after _that_, he vanquished Piccolo's son at the World Martial Arts Tournament. Do you get what I'm saying? Even if we do destroy the androids, they won't be the last threat to our planet. Something else will come sooner or later. That is why we must take steps now to be ready for whatever that may be."

Simmons just looked at his superior with puzzlement on his face. Suddenly his eyes widened in realization.

"You don't want to destroy the androids! You want to control them and use them in the army!"

Jesper chuckled slightly and shook his head.

"Gero himself couldn't control these androids, so what chance have I got? No, I just need the components that give them their incredible strength. Once they are successfully removed and duplicated," He nodded his head in the direction of the lab. "Then we can finally reintroduce the military to the Earth."

"With an army of robots?! Simmons couldn't keep the rage out of his voice. For ten years he had followed this man. Had obeyed his orders and went along with his every command without question. All in the hopes that one day they could defeat the androids and allow the people of Earth to live in peace once more. But now, he found that this _madman _wanted to create thousands of the blasted things!

"Now, Simmons." The coronal was talking in the tone you'd use with an angry child. "I was hoping you'd be able to see the bigger picture. With the technology these androids have inside of them, there'd be no telling what the human race could achieve." A smile came to the old man's face. "You could say these machines are a blessing in disguise."

"_Blessing_?!" Simmons nearly shrieked the word out. "These androids are demons from Hell! They cause nothing but death and destruction and no good can come from them, ever!"

Jesper looked Simmons in the eye. It was obvious the commander wasn't going to back down. He sighed sadly.

"Somehow I knew you'd feel that way." He nodded to the man next to him, who turned to face Simmons. And, before Simmons could react, he raised his gun and pulled the trigger.

Simmons fell to the floor without a sound. As he landed, the dragon ball slipped out of his pocket and rolled to the soldier's boot. He bent down and picked it up.

"What's this?" He asked, looking towards Jesper.

"It is of no concern." The coronal answered dismissively. "Kindly take Simmons' body down to the infirmary morgue. We'll see to it that he gets a decent burial at a later date."

The soldier went to follow his orders, when suddenly an alarm sounded out. Jesper pressed a button on his chair and a small screen opened up before him. It showed 18 pulverizing some soldiers in the weapons hold. He quickly turned to the gunman.

"Get the troops down there! And take the binders with you."

The man saluted and dashed out the door, dropping the dragon ball on the floor.

Jesper looked at the screen again. The android had knocked out the last of the soldiers and now turned her attention to the weapons hold. Raising her hand she let loose an energy wave. A small one, but still enough to obliterate everything in the room. Jesper let loose a growl of frustration. That room had held their main cache of binders. There were still some intact. Those were the ones now being carried by the troops on their way to intercept the android and the one he kept beside him in his hover chair.

Suddenly, he realized something. The android Simmons had captured was female, but so was the one he was watching on screen right now. Simmons had been positive that the android that had been with the red-headed one was male. Every eye-witness account that Jesper had managed to find over the years had said the same thing. That there were two androids, a male with black hair and a female with blonde hair.

If the blonde female was the one he was watching now, and the male had gotten away… Jesper looked down into the lab at Chiara. Then who was that!?

17 smiled as he watched the guards outside the lab run off to obviously follow orders to get 18. And she said he never used his brain!

Once he was sure they were gone, he leapt out from his hiding place. The blueprints of the fortress had shown him an air duct that led right to the laboratory. He now landed in the centre of the laboratory and aimed his palm at the nearest group of scientists. Of course, it was just an empty gesture. He couldn't fire any energy waves, but they didn't know that!

"It's clear that you people have been doing your homework on 18 and myself. So you know it's pointless to try and fight me. I'm talking to _you_." A man who'd been standing behind 17, and reaching for a gun under the table he was leaning on, froze when the android's eyes were suddenly upon him. "Don't bother. You'd be dead before you could pull the trigger. Now get over here."

The terrified man reluctantly complied. Once he was close enough, 17's hand shot out and grabbed the front of his shirt. He pointed to the table where Chiara lay.

"You're going to deactivate those things you've put on her, then you're going to open those." 17 now motioned towards the locked laboratory doors. He decided it best not to give the man time to wonder why he needed the doors unlocked. "And if you do all that in the next 30 seconds, I won't punch a hole through your head."

The man quickly ran over to a control console and pressed some buttons. The glow disappeared from the binders on Chiara's arms and legs. As the man rushed past him to unlock the doors, 17 smirked. The human simpletons had bought his act hook, line and sinker.

'And the Oscar goes to …' He thought to himself as he walked up to Chiara. But, once he got a good look at her, the smirk disappeared.

Various parts of her body were bandaged up, but 17 could still see some blood seeping through. He looked at the small table that held the equipment the doctors had been using. There were some sample trays laid in a row and each of them had a label on it. 'Blood', 'muscle', 'skin', 'hair', 'bone'.

The men and women in that room were lucky that 17 was unable to fire energy waves anymore. Because, if he was, he would have blasted everyone in that room right there and then.

He pulled the binders off of Chiara and picked her up. He turned towards the door, but suddenly a voice came out of a speaker in the wall.

"Hold it right there!"

Jesper turned on the light in his observation room so that 17 could see him.

"I'm afraid I can't just let you walk away with that." He pointed to Chiara. "But this does however provide an opportunity."

He pressed a button on the panel in front of him and a hole opened up in the floor, in front of 17. Out of it, rose a tall metal cylinder. Part of it slid away to reveal a human-shaped figure inside. The being stepped out and stood to attention as the cylinder disappeared back into the floor.

It looked like a man, but its' skin was silver and shone like metal.

17 smirked and called up to the old man,

"An android? You think you're the first mad scientist to try that trick?!"

Jesper chuckled,

"Of course not. You should be flattered to know that this prototype has been integrated with samples taken from your friend there." He pointed again to Chiara. "He should have all her strength and speed. And, as it just so happens, I was thinking of how we could test his power."

All the scientists in the room had taken this opportunity to escape through the lab doors and lock them behind them. It looked like 17 wasn't getting out that way. He looked at the android, still smirking.

"Well then, I guess it's time to see how a copy does up against the real thing."

He put Chiara back on the table and stepped towards his opponent. The thing just stood, still as a statue, its' arms down by its' sides.

17 charged at his target, throwing a fist straight at its' head. The fist hit nothing but air. Before 17 even realized the android had moved, he felt a sharp pain in his back and was sent flying into the opposite wall. His face impacted with the hard surface and he stumbled back, just managing to stay on his feet.

He turned around to face the robot again. Its' expressionless face didn't give away any emotion, but 17 could see the old man up in the observation room. He returned 17's gaze with a smug, knowing smile.

'Okay. I now officially hate _all_ scientists!'


	4. 4

* * *

Chapter 4

_Though you hear me_

_I don't think that you relate_

_My will is something_

_That you can't confiscate_

_So forgive me, but I won't be frustrated_

_By destruction in your eyes _

_As you're staring at the sun_

'Staring at the Sun' by The Offspring.

18 crushed the last of the binders in her hands. All the soldiers lay around her, completely knocked out. After taking a quick look around to make sure all the binders had been destroyed, she began running in the direction of the laboratory. By now, 17 should've gotten Chiara. That is, assuming that nothing had gone wrong.

17 threw a series of punches at the android, but every time it just moved its' head or body out of the way. Suddenly, it brought its' knee up, right into 17s' midsection. Some saliva hit the floor as his mouth opened in pain. The android then grabbed a handful of his hair and pulled his head upright. Its' fist impacted with his nose and 17 cried out in agony. The android then started punching him in the stomach, again and again.

17 could taste his own blood in his mouth, and a particularly violent punch caused him to cough and the crimson liquid sprayed over the android's silver skin. Still holding him by his hair, the android gave 17 one last punch to the gut and then threw him against the wall near the table Chiara lay on.

17 was in so much pain, he couldn't even move. He lay with his back against the wall, watching the android march slowly towards him.

Jesper was pleased to see his creation was everything he'd hoped it would be, but he had to admit he was surprised at how easily it had beaten the other android. He had expected him to be more of a challenge than that. Maybe the android they'd captured was more powerful than this one. If that was so, then there was no need to keep him around. Jesper could just let his creation destroy him.

He was so intent on watching the fight that he was completely unaware of the blood-soaked man pointing a gun at the back of his head. Simmons pulled the trigger and watched as his one-time mentor went limp.

He dropped the gun on the floor and, with one hand clutching his bleeding chest, he approached the dead man's chair. First, he turned off the light, bathing the room in darkness then reaching down beside Jesper's body, he picked up the last remaining binder. He slipped it over his arm and began to stagger towards the door. He was going to destroy those androids. All of them!

The android was holding on to 17s' head, and squeezing hard. He cried out in pain as its' metal fingers started to dig into his skin and draw blood.

A sudden explosion sounded from behind. Still holding on to 17s' head, the android turned to look at the cause of the interruption. The lab doors lay on the floor as burning chunks of metal and 18 stepped over them to stand before the mechanical being.

Deciding that 17 was no longer a threat, the android let go of his head and let him drop to the floor. It now turned its' attention to its' new target. 17 was able to push himself up on his hands and call out to 18,

"What kept you!?"

18 rolled her eyes. There was just no pleasing some people. But she didn't have time to dwell on that. The android came lunging at her with its' fist stretched out. She managed to catch it, but the force behind the punch caused her to take a step back. Her opponent threw a punch with its' other fist, which 18 caught in her free hand. She then crossed the androids' arms in front of its' chest and drove her knee into its' gut. Instead of keeling over, which is what most fighters did when 18 attacked that area, the android simply reared its' head back and slammed it into 18s' forehead. She staggered backwards, losing her grip on the androids' hands. It then ran into her, locking its' arms around her waist, and smashed her into the wall.

18 gasped as the android then punched her in the stomach but, before it could hit her again, she raised her hand to its' face and blasted it with an energy wave. This knocked the android back a few steps. 18 kept up the onslaught, firing wave after wave, forcing the machine back further and further.

Suddenly, the android straightened up and a hole appeared in its' chest. Out of it shot five glowing lines that 17 instantly recognized.

"Watch out!" He yelled. But before 18 could move, the binders had coiled around her arms. And then the pain came.

The last time 18 had been in unbearable pain was when the Z-fighters had been fighting the bounty hunter that had come looking for Vegeta, over a year ago. They had all experienced, at some point, the mind-numbing pain of her electric attack. But this was different. This time, it her own body's enhancements that were the source of her agony. It really did feel like there was a fire burning inside of her, and 18 didn't know how much longer she could keep from passing out.

17 watched as 18 screamed in pain. He was impressed that she was still on her feet, but he knew it was only a matter of time before she went down.

"Great." He spat some blood out of his mouth. "Now what are we going to do?"

It was then that he heard a sound from the table next to him. Looking over, he saw Chiara stir and slowly sit up. She put a hand to her aching head and looked around.

"Huh? What's going on?"

The android turned its' head away from its' still writhing target and focused on Chiara. Silently, it raised its' hand and fired a large energy wave at her.

Chiara's eyes widened at the huge ball of light flying towards her. She covered her face and braced herself. Suddenly, the energy ball exploded and the shock wave knocked over the table Chiara was sitting on. She opened her eyes and was surprised to see that, apart from the cuts already on her body, she wasn't harmed. The energy ball had blown up before hitting her. Someone must've blasted it with an energy wave of their own. Chiara looked around to see who could've done it.

18 was now on her knees with the androids' binders still wrapped around her. 17 wasn't far from Chiara and he looked just as surprised as she did.

Just then, the android reared back and sparks started shooting off from its' body. 18 immediately felt the energy from the binders dissipate and, tensing her muscles, broke free of the metal coils around her. She was still in tremendous pain though and could barely lift her head to see what had caused the androids' sudden weakness.

Simmons stood just behind the android. The launcher on his outstretched arm had fired a binder line that was now wrapped around the androids' torso. It was sparking all over and its' body was having minor convulsions. Simmons smiled as he watched it shudder. From what he could see, it had already weakened the two androids considerably. Once this one was down, all he had to do was take care of the red-haired one and then he could finally rid the world of them, once and for all.

Suddenly, his triumphant smile faded and his eyes widened. The android, although still sparking and convulsing, had turned around and was now walking towards him. Unbeknownst to Simmons, when Jesper had been designing his prototype, he had made sure that it would have all the physical characteristics that 17 and 18 had. Their strength, their speed, their infinite energy. But, he was aware that they had one flaw. They could still feel pain. Granted they had a much higher pain threshold than any human and even most of the special fighters from Earth but, deep down, they were just as vulnerable to the effects of pain as everyone else.

And so, Jesper had seen to it that _his_ android would not have the same weakness. Now, even with its' circuits frying from the binder's energy the android was still able to focus entirely on its' target.

Upon seeing the android walk casually toward him after being hit by the one thing he had been sure would stop all of its' murderous kind, Simmons' mind just snapped. Throwing the useless launcher away, he took out his gun and opened fire. The bullets bounced off the android harmlessly, but he kept the trigger squeezed.

"Die, you abomination!" He shrieked.

The android simply lifted its' hand, formed its' fingers into a stabbing position, then struck.

"Oooh!" 17 grimaced. "He's dead."

He was taking cover behind the overturned table with Chiara and 18. 18 was still in pain from the binders and had barely managed to drag herself away from the android. Now they all watched as it turned around and began to walk towards them.

"Great! Now what're we going to do!?" He looked at 18. "Got any more bright ideas?!"

"Actually, yes I do!" 18 returned his glare. "But I need you to bring down its' defense first!"

"Oh, really? And how am I supposed to do that? Harsh language!?"

"With that!" 18 pointed to the launcher lying on the floor. "When that guy hit the android with it, I could tell it had lost some of its' energy. Hit it again and it won't be able to raise a defense against my attack."

"Sounds like a good plan to me." Said Chiara. "I'll distract it for you, 17."

"What!" 17 stared at Chiara like she'd just sprouted horns.

"Well, you need to get the device and 18 has to recover her strength."

18 grimaced as another painful pang went through her body.

"She's right, 17. Right now, Chiara's the fastest of us. She can keep the android busy while you get the device." She peered out from behind the table to see the android raising its' hand, preparing to fire an energy wave. "You'd better move now!"

"Okay, here I go!" Chiara ran out from behind the table and raced past the android. It moved its' arm to follow her, and she just managed to avoid being hit by the energy wave.

18 turned to face 17.

"She's pretty brave."

17 just shrugged and watched for his opening. The android was trying to get Chiara with punches and kicks, but she kept jumping clear of it. 17 saw his chance and dashed for the launcher.

The android threw a kick towards Chiara, but she jumped into the air and hovered above it. It flew up to meet her and began throwing punches and kicks again. Suddenly it stopped. Chiara noticed that it seemed to be looking over her shoulder. She turned around to see the reflective surface of the observation window. Since Simmons had turned off the lights, the window now acted like a mirror. A mirror with which the android could see 17 grabbing the launcher on the floor behind it.

"Oh no! 17, look out!"

17 turned around just in time to get hit, head on, by an energy wave.

"17!" Chiara didn't have time to see if he was alright because she was then blasted by the android herself. She went crashing down to the ground with the android right behind her. Its' fingers formed into a stabbing position again.

But, just before it was able to strike, its' body started shaking and the sparks began to fly again. 17, despite being blasted onto his back, had still managed to keep a hold of the launcher and fire it at the android. Chiara took this opportunity to move away from the sparking machine and 18 took this opportunity to make her move.

The android began walking towards 17, like it had done Simmons, but 18 leapt over its' head, turned in mid-air and landed a few feet in front of her enemy. She crossed her arms in front of her chest and started focusing her energy.

"Alright, Tin man. It's downtime." She started making various motions with her arms at a high speed.

'Hang on. That looks familiar.' 17 thought to himself. 'Is that - ?'

18 thrust both her hands out in front of her and yelled,

"Burning Attack!!!"

The ball of energy flew from her hands and collided with the android, dead on. The resulting explosion left a gaping hole in the floating fortress! Fortunately, it remained airborne so the city below was not in danger. But the lab was completely destroyed and there wasn't even a trace of the android left.

In the area the lab used to be, 18 hovered in the air. She had hold of 17 with one arm, Chiara with the other and an energy barrier around the three of them. Seeing that her hastily raised shield had held up, 18 breathed a sigh of relief and let it drop. She turned around to look at the damage her burning attack had done.

"Heh. I guess that attack should come with a warning, 'Don't use indoors'." She said with a weak smile.

"I can't believe you used one of _his_ attacks!" exclaimed 17. "I mean, have you no pride left!? You're the one who used to say it looked like he was trying to get something sticky off his hands!"

18 growled through her teeth and turned her head to face 17.

"Honestly 17, would it kill you to show a little gratitude for once!"

"She's right, you know." Said Chiara. "I think it was very nice of 18 to help us like this."

17 just grumbled to himself and crossed his arms. Suddenly there was a strange whistling in the air above them. All three androids looked up, and the dragon ball landed on 17's forehead!

Chiara caught it just before it fell while 17 clutched his head in both hands, cursing through his teeth.

"Hey! This is the dragon ball I found! The explosion must've sent it flying into the air!"

18 looked at 17 out of the corner of her eye. Her attention was mainly focused on the limiter around his neck.

"Chiara." She said. "I think it would be best if you let me have that."

Chiara looked at 18 in surprise, but then she realized what she meant. She still didn't trust 17.

'I suppose I can't really blame her.' She thought to herself. So she reluctantly agreed.

"Thanks. Now you guys should get going. The people in the city below have probably already noticed the explosion we caused, and the interior of this place hanging in mid-air. It won't be long before Bulma finds out about this and comes to check it out. I'll be sure to meet her when she gets here."

And so, while holding onto 17, Chiara flew from the city and headed back home. 18 watched them go. She had a thoughtful look on her face.

'I saw the expression you had when you saw that android attack Chiara, 17. Maybe there's hope for you yet, brother.'

17 sat on a rock outside Dr Gajetto's home. He was going through in his head everything that'd happened that day. One event kept going through his mind, over and over. It was when the android had fired that energy wave at Chiara. He'd been watching it fly towards her. He'd known she was going to get hurt. And then, without even thinking, he'd pointed his hand toward the energy wave, and it had exploded.

He held his flat palm out in front of him and gazed at it. Maybe he'd been going about this all wrong. The limiter Gajetto had fitted him with blocked the energy from his enhancements that allowed him to fire energy waves and fly. But come to think of it, the Z-fighters didn't have any cybernetic enhancements and they were still able to do such things. Instead, they used something called 'ki'. According to his data, that was the name given to the body's own natural energy.

'I wonder…'

17 closed his eyes and remained perfectly still. He tried to relax and _let_ his energy come, instead of trying to force it. He sat like that for what seemed like ages. Beginning to feel like an idiot, he opened his eyes – and nearly fell off the rock at what he saw!

Floating above his palm was a small ball of light, about the size of a ping-pong ball. 17 just sat and stared, unbelieving, at it.

"Ah, 17! There you are!"

17 quickly lowered his hand and turned around to see Dr. Gajetto walking towards him.

"I just thought you'd like to know that Chiara's injuries were only minor. She's going to be just fine."

17 just shrugged and didn't answer. Gajetto tuned and walked back into the house, a knowing smile on his face.

When he was sure Gajetto was gone, 17 looked at his palm again. The light had disappeared, but he could still feel the energy.

Slowly he closed his hand into a fist and an evil smile crept across his face.

"It's a start."


End file.
